Why Dignity?
Connecting us across beliefs and cultures, dignity unites us around our shared humanity. When an organization honors the dignity of every employee, recognizing and valuing the role that each plays, employee engagement and retention strengthens and the workplace thrives.
Work is a source of personal meaning
Many of us spend a lot of time at work—90,000 hours or more—and we identify our work as a great source of meaning in our lives. How we see ourselves as workers—and how we are treated at work—has an outsized impact on our sense of personal dignity.
At the same time, work is a leading cause of stress (disproportionately affected by managers), and many workers don’t feel their organizations treat them as the “greatest resource” described in values statements.
“This is a serious issue, because dignity is fundamental to well-being and to human and organizational thriving.”
Research shows that conditions of work have a dramatic impact over workers’ health and well-being—and those who feel valued and respected are more likely to perform at their best.
Many people don’t feel valued at work
A full 60% report that their efforts are not recognized. While “dignity” often appears in values statements or Code of Conduct, people end up feeling disconnected from a reality they don’t recognize, and few managers receive any guidance on how to think about—let alone create and sustain—the positive dynamics of workplace dignity. It’s not surprising, then, that unhealthy, disempowering workplace cultures persist. In a recent study of the tech industry, nearly 40% of employees who left their companies indicated that unfairness or mistreatment played a major role in that decision. And that runs alongside broad feelings of loneliness and isolation that pre-dated the Covid-19 pandemic and still persist (Korn Ferry).
Even the pandemic-related move to greater remote work did not necessarily mean a more dignity-centered workforce. In fact, in a late 2021 survey 70% said that remote work made it easier to get away with rude behavior and non-responsiveness and more than half said that compared to pre-pandemic, colleagues are ruder. (Korn Ferry)
Meanwhile, while a vast majority of leaders think they're caring and employees are thriving, nearly half their people, in 2022, disagree. (Deloitte)
“For one-fourth of people working in corporate America, a typical day at work means being a "lonely only.”
Employees from underrepresented groups are more likely to have work experiences that undermine their sense of worth. When an employee is the only one or one of a very few of their race, ethnicity, and/or sexual orientation represented on their team, they may feel alienated or vulnerable, which in turn places them at risk for differential treatment. On top of that, they are particularly susceptible to burnout: women, for example, are 32% more likely to experience burnout compared with men.
Alongside that, employee confidence in racial equity commitments (which spiked in 2020 but were not always sustained) does not match employer perceptions. In 2023, Edelman found:
- 60% of executives feel that their organization is making a lot of meaningful progress on addressing racism and racial inequities in the workplace. 28% of mid-level employees feel that way. 18% of associate employees feel that way.
- 62% of respondents (up 8 percentage points from the prior year) say they believe companies are doing mediocre or worse living up to their promises and commitments to address racism both within their organization as well as the population.
Alongside all of this, a Glassdoor study found that workplace culture is a key factor that drives employee turnover. Worse, stressful work environments can actually cause workers physical and psychological harm. Other data drive the need for action home:
While over 80% of employers believe that employees are treated with dignity and respect at their organization regardless of their job, role or level, only 65% of employees feel the same. Willis Towers Watson
“61% of employees in the US have witnessed or experienced discrimination at work” Glassdoor
“One in five Americans have left a job in the past five years due to bad company culture.” SHRM
‘Paying a fair, living wage’ has long-been the American public’s top priority for businesses and by year-end 2021 that continued to be the case.” (JUST Capital)
While 84% of workers believe their organizations should be responsible for their financial well-being, only 55% believe their organizations care about it (SoFi at Work via Protocol)
Unique Opportunity: Advancing dignity at work delivers positive outcomes
COVID-19 and the renewed racial justice reckoning throughout 2020 challenged many organizations to think hard about what they stand for and the actions they take. Many issued bold worker-centric and anti-racist statements. Some reconsidered their external commitments, their place in the communities in which they operate, and how they engage their employees.
Those organizations that invested in their workers reaped financial rewards as 2020 saw companies with superior workforce treatment outperform the market.
JUST Capital—having conducted surveys in partnership with The Harris Poll—reports that the American public overwhelmingly believes that the pandemic has prompted the need for a “reset,” and a move to stakeholder-driven capitalism. As the debate between stakeholder capitalism and shareholder primacy carries on, JUST Capital’s analysis provides clear evidence that “your business is only as good as your workforce.”
And employers are uniquely positioned to better harness the power of their workforces. The Edelman Trust Barometer consistently reports, year-over-year, that people trust “my employer” more than any other organization (e.g., government, media). This creates a unique opportunity for organizations to leverage that reservoir of trust to bolster dignity at work, yielding more productive, more engaged workers, all of which leads to stronger organizational results. Our 2020 study with Willis Towers Watson, showed that nine in ten employers were ready to build a culture of dignity, up from 59% in the previous three years. To do so, it will be crucial for employers to demonstrate clarity and consistency, and seek out employee voices—especially in times of crisis.
“Responsible leaders must take specific actions to close the perception gap between what their employees report they are experiencing and what employers think their workplace cultures are delivering.”
—Kerry Kennedy
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